Two Women in Power: Tanzania and Namibia Forge a Bold, Visionary, United Pan-African Future

By Adonis Byemelwa

The rains came gently in Dar es Salaam—soft, steady, and quiet. But inside the University of Dar es Salaam, the atmosphere was anything but calm. As Namibian President Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah stood before a hall brimming with students, academics, diplomats, and the press, she didn’t just deliver a speech. She delivered a spark.

Her words cut through the formality often expected at state events. “Leadership,” she said, looking out over a sea of young, attentive faces, “is not a miracle. It’s for those with vision, those who stay the course.”

It was more than inspiration; it was lived truth. Her presence in Tanzania from May 20 to 21, 2025, marked her first official visit since being sworn in as Namibia’s first female President two months earlier.

It was also an unmistakable moment of symbolic and strategic importance—two female heads of state, President Nandi-Ndaitwah and her host President Samia Suluhu Hassan, carving out new contours of leadership in a continent still learning to trust women in power.

Their meeting, full of warmth and quiet strength, was a study in shared purpose. One had risen from the coastlines of Zanzibar to become East Africa’s most prominent female voice.

 The other, shaped by the winds of Namibia’s liberation history and a lifetime of public service, now led a nation rich in minerals, culture, and potential. Together, they stood not as anomalies, but as affirmations—reminders that African women are no longer waiting to be handed the reins.

“We’ve seen women rise—Joyce Banda, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Sahle-Work Zewde, Samia Suluhu Hassan, and I,” President Nandi-Ndaitwah told the university audience. “That list must grow.”

It was a state visit heavy with substance, not just symbolism. At the State House (Ikulu), the two Presidents discussed cooperation in trade, education, energy, and heritage. Their nations share deep historical ties—born in the fires of Africa’s anti-colonial struggles—and their friendship has matured over the decades. But this visit was about more than nostalgia. It was about what’s next.

Tanzania, with a GDP of roughly $85 billion, is one of East Africa’s economic engines, driven by agriculture, natural gas, and a steadily expanding manufacturing base. Namibia, smaller in population and economy—boasting a GDP of around $13.5 billion—is nonetheless strategically vital. Rich in diamonds, uranium, and now green hydrogen potential, Namibia is becoming a player to watch on the continent’s energy map.

What do these nations have to learn from each other? Plenty.

“Namibia may be smaller in economic scale, but its leadership in renewable energy and mining governance is something we admire,” President Samia told reporters after the bilateral talks. “There is space here for shared innovation.”

President Nandi-Ndaitwah agreed, emphasizing collaboration over competition. “This is how we grow together,” she said. “By building bridges, not walls. We are not only neighbors in history, but partners in progress.”

They signed agreements to boost trade, which has seen only modest growth, from 17 billion Tanzanian shillings in 2019 to 20 billion in 2023. Both leaders admitted those numbers were underwhelming. “Our private sectors must step up,” President Samia said. “They are central to generating employment and lifting our people out of poverty.”

And then came the heart of the visit: a shared commitment to education and youth. One of the visit’s most tangible outcomes was a new academic partnership between the Open University of Tanzania and Namibia’s Triumphant College, which will begin offering Kiswahili courses in Namibia.

“Language is not just a tool for communication—it is a bridge of understanding,” President Nandi-Ndaitwah said. “Our youth must know each other’s histories, cultures, and hopes. That’s where true Pan-Africanism begins.”

Her speech at the University of Dar es Salaam was electric. It didn’t feel like diplomacy; it felt like a reckoning. Addressing a packed hall, she spoke candidly to young women, telling them not to wait for permission to lead.

“You must not allow discouraging voices to derail your ambitions,” she said. “Discipline is everything. If you want to lead anywhere, in any field, you must be focused.”

It wasn’t lofty or detached. It was the voice of someone who had fought her way to the top in a system not designed for her. Her anecdotes were sharp, intimate. She spoke of being doubted, second-guessed, underestimated—not for lack of talent, but for being a woman. And then she smiled, as if to say: but here I am.

The moment that brought many to tears was her reunion with Salama Salehe Ghulum—Mama Salehe—her former neighbor in the 1980s when she lived in Magomeni Mikumi, Dar es Salaam. It was unscripted and deeply personal, a reminder that history is built not just in parliaments and press rooms, but in kitchens, courtyards, and quiet friendships.

“Seeing Mama Salehe again,” she said later, “was a full-circle moment. This country gave me shelter, dignity, and purpose when my own was still fighting for freedom.”

Critics and commentators across Africa took note. Pan-African think tank researcher Dr. Isaac Biko described the visit as “an affirmation of soft power diplomacy driven by vision, not bravado.”

“We often talk about Africa’s rising,” he said. “But if we’re honest, that rising must be rooted in inclusive leadership. These two leaders—Samia and Nandi-Ndaitwah—are not just figureheads. They’re architects of something deeper.”

One area of real urgency discussed was energy. Namibia’s booming interest in green hydrogen and Tanzania’s vast reserves of natural gas have the potential to create a regional energy corridor—one based not on exploitation, but on sustainable planning.

“Our energy future must reflect our demographics—young, ambitious, and hungry for opportunities,” said President Nandi-Ndaitwah. “We can no longer afford to be energy poor on a continent so rich.”

That sentiment echoed across the diplomatic meetings and into private sector roundtables. Namibia is already attracting European interest in its hydrogen projects, while Tanzania is steadily advancing its LNG infrastructure. The synergy is real and timely.

As the visit drew to a close, many in Tanzania reflected not just on what was said, but how it was said. There was no overt fanfare, no grandstanding. Instead, there was clarity. A kind of political elegance.

“We’ve come far,” President Nandi-Ndaitwah said in her closing remarks, “but we’re not yet where we need to be. And for that to happen, we need young people—especially young women—to step forward.” She paused, letting the silence stretch long enough for the message to sink in.

“Do not ask for permission to lead,” she added. “Prepare yourself and take your place. The continent needs you.”

It was a call—sharp, grounded, and unapologetically urgent.

As her motorcade left the university and later departed from Dar es Salaam, what lingered wasn’t just the diplomatic agreements or the photo ops. It was a shift. A sense that the conversation about leadership in Africa had moved beyond glass ceilings to blueprints.

 Real blueprints. Ones drawn with conviction, collaboration, and courage. And at the center of that blueprint, two women stood tall—leaders not just of their countries, but of a continent still daring to imagine what’s possible.

*Culled from June Issue of PAV Magazine